The Center for Justice & Accountability

Description

CJA was founded CJA in 1998 with support from Amnesty International and the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture to represent torture survivors in their pursuit of justice. CJA's first client was a Bosnian torture and detention camp survivor who experienced additional trauma after he learned that his torturer was living freely in the same community in the United States. CJA recognizes that the need for justice is an integral component of a torture victim's recovery process and that healing cannot take place when the perpetrator continues to live without consequence.

CJA was founded on the principle, first used during the Nuremberg trials after World War II, that certain crimes are so egregious that they represent offenses against all humankind. These crimes include genocide, crimes against humanity, extrajudicial killing and torture. CJA believes that perpetrators of such violations should be brought to justice wherever they are found.

CJA uses two civil laws to hold perpetrators of international human rights abuses accountable in the United States: the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victim Protection Act. We also pursue criminal human rights cases before the Spanish National Court which has initiated investigations into abuses around the world.

CJA has pioneered a survivor-centered approach to the quest for justice that combines legal representation with medical and psycho-social services to both empower and heal torture survivors and their communities.